islamabadAP —
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday ordered the suspension of eight officials and directed criminal proceedings to be initiated against those responsible for a fire that killed 14 newborns at an Islamabad hospital, the prime minister’s office announced.
Sharif’s office said in a statement that the order was issued after a commission of inquiry headed by former senior civil servant Shahid Khan submitted an interim report on Wednesday’s Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) fire.
The fire was confined to a third-floor nursery, but officials said it spread so quickly that staff were only able to rescue one of the 15 infants being cared for there.
The statement said the investigation found that the daycare center did not have a fire alarm or sprinkler system, and the hospital lacked detailed procedures and training for responding to fires and other emergencies.
The fire has sparked public outrage and prompted grieving families and civil society groups to demand accountability.
“Those found guilty of criminal negligence will not receive leniency,” Sharif was quoted as saying.
He ordered that departmental and criminal proceedings be instituted against those identified by the commission.
The eight people included the hospital’s executive director, two co-executive directors, the head of neonatology, two other doctors, the hospital’s deputy director for safety, and the head of emergency services at the Capital Development Authority.
Sharif also approved a lawsuit against the company responsible for hospital security and its staff.
The government has already announced compensation of 5 million rupees (approximately $18,000) for each surviving family member.
The statement said an interim investigation found that supervisory staff were not on duty at the time of the fire. There were two nurses, one female security guard, and one dormitory staff in the ward.
Emergency services were not called until six minutes after the fire broke out, and the first paramedics arrived 15 minutes after they were alerted, the statement said.
The researchers found that of the hospital’s 13 standard operating procedures, only two subsections mentioned fires and other emergencies.
Approximately two minutes of surveillance video of the nursery school fire was shown at Saturday’s meeting. The footage was not immediately released.
An interim report said a nurse risked her life to rescue the baby before the fire spread to the ward. Mr Sharif approved the nomination for the Sitara-e-Khidmat award, a national award recognizing public works.
The fatal incident prompted a wide-ranging review of fire safety measures at hospitals across Pakistan. The government of Punjab, the country’s most populous province, this week ordered an immediate review of hospitals’ fire protection systems, fire suppression equipment and emergency response facilities.
Sharif earlier fired Health Secretary Aslam Ghauri, the health ministry’s highest-ranking civil servant, in the wake of the fire.
The fire was one of the worst tragedies involving children in Pakistan in recent times. In June, the roof of a tutoring center under construction in the eastern city of Lahore collapsed, killing 14 children.
